


Bandersnatch

by Gold_Diamond



Category: freeform - Fandom
Genre: Folktales, Legends, Mythology - Freeform, myths, myths and legends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:39:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27640115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gold_Diamond/pseuds/Gold_Diamond
Summary: Hey! Sorry I haven't been all that active as of late, internet's been iffy so trying to connect to Ao3 was taking forever! I've had this idea in the works for a few weeks now and decided in the works for a good while now and decided to take a break from my MHA fanfic to work on it. Hope y'all enjoy!





	Bandersnatch

It was 12:08pm in rural Oklahoma, at a small gas station, run by a small man, in a small town, for small folk. Presently, two teenage part-time workers conversed impassively with each other, waiting for their shifts to be over so they can go off and skate board or practice photography or anything else they could possibly think off that'd be entertaining in this droll village of roughly fifty-eight to sixty-4 people. 

It was not hard to imagine that these two were bored beyond comprehension, but on a day like this with even the weather itself being unremarkably normal, it was an understatement to say that they were looking for anything to do to occupy themselves, be it job related tasks, past times that could be engaged in with ones phone, or even topics of conversation they could discuss. It was during one of the pairs little back and forth banters that something finally occurred, lo and behold, it was a customer! 

Eagerly the older of the two began to straighten her posture, adjust her casual attitude into a more professional one, and judge the stranger as best she could. She took note of his raggedy appearance, the most prominent thing she saw being a patched together coat made from who knows how many different pieces of cloth and fabric, his long and messy grey hair going just below the shoulders, and a thick, bushy beard that obscured the lower half of his face. She was about to ask and see if maybe he was lost, assuming he was homeless and possibly looking for something to steal, but before she was able to raise her voice, the man approached the counter, a small bag of salted jerky in one hand and a coin purse in the other.

"H-how much is this? I-I don't have much on me..."

Perhaps it was the tone of his voice, or the pitiful appearance he had, but whatever it was, the young cashier couldn't help but want to pay for the vagrants food. It wasn't like it was much anyways, just a just a few lousy bucks to keep the poor fella fed, but once more, she refrained from sayin anything when she beheld the contents of his coin purse, which were actual honest to god gold coins! At first, she felt amazement, but it was soon followed by confusion as to where the vagrant procured such valuable pieces of precious metal, and more importantly, if he had access to such a thing, why did he look and dress the way he did? She immediately assumed he obtained this wealth via theft, but after a moments pause to think on the matter, she resumed with her plan to pay for the vagrants food, uncaring if he was a thief since she genuinely felt pity for the rattily dressed man.

"...Eh, don't worry about paying. I'll handle the bill, you just get you something to eat, alright?"

He looked to her, then his coins, then back once more to her, as if unable to process the seemingly small act of kindness being perpetrated towards him.

"A-are you sure? I-I can pay, I don't mind!"

"Go nuts pal, I need to do my good deed for the day anyways." 

She spoke in a way that could easily be misconstrued as uncaring if it weren't for the fact that she was smiling encouragingly at him so he would take the jerky and hopefully not dwell on the matter. He gingerly grabbed the bag and placed it within his coat, returning the smile sheepishly as he did so. Joe exited with a feeling of gratitude that wouldn't be going away anytime soon and was soon out of sight from the Jasmine and the other. 

The "other" in question was currently giving Jasmine an questioning look, one that asked "So why did you do that?" To which Jasmine simply shrugged. It wasn't like she was obligated to do that, and had it been any other smelly drunken fool that asked for a handout, she most likely would've denied them. But this man didn't reek of alcohol, nor did he act or seem hostile, he was simply another poor soul down on their luck like so many others after a drastic change swept over the American economy due to some crazy shift in political power or something. The details were murky though, and anyone pressed in the subject usually steered away from it or simply didn't provide any solid explanations.

"Well Jasmine, since you're apparently trying to do good things now maybe you could give me a hand later? I've been pretty buys lately doing nothing and completely forgot about we had a stupid friggin' history test this Wednesday and I haven't studied at all. Think you could help me go over the crap that might be important?"

Jasmine rolled her eyes and agreed, of course she would help him, they're friends! Plus, she owed him a solid and figured this would be a good way to pay it back.

"Sure Nick, want me to bring highlighters while I'm at it? Maybe you could just copy my homework if you're so inclined! Yeah I'll come help you, but you're coming over to my place alright? I'm not driving out into the middle of nowhere again just so you can have access to all of your crap. Organize everything you'll need and come over anytime, I should be available whenever!"

"Great! I'll contact you sometime soon. Well if you'll excuse me I need to get back to not exerting myself. You'd be surprised how much effort is required to pull such a thing off!" 

"I'm sure it does, now hurry up and at least look busy alright?" 

They continued about their business until their work was done and it was time for them to leave, and instead of heading straight back to their respective college dorms, they joined each other for a short walk, basking in the partially humid weather and evening sun. It was the perfect time of day for them, just bright enough thanks to an unobscured ad orangish-gold sunset but just late enough to warrant streetlights and lampposts to be lit, allowing those with impaired vision to more ably see the surrounding areas and terrain. It was evenings like this that usually transitioned into cool, crisp nights with a sky blackened by light pollution, but still enjoyable in some few more natural areas where it wasn't so bad and you could occasionally make out a few stars and constellations. A night that is enjoyed either alone in ones abode reading, playing, or watching TV, or with friends drinking, partying, chatting, or as Jasmine and Nick were doing. They visited a few choice establishments that either one or both of them were familiar with and dawdled in these locations until they were satisfied, browsing wares in stores they wouldn't or couldn't purchase, or talking to acquaintances they knew there.

By the time the pair had finished, it was dark out, making the previously mentioned streetlights helpful and painting the sky an inky shade of black, and as such, they decided it was time to return to their rooms on local a local NSU campus. They had made it just outside of campus when they silently drifted apart and went to their respective lodgings, bidding each other, and the day they were experiencing farewell before retiring for the evening. 

The following morning was uneventful, filled with menial routines and dull small talk amongst other students and scholars looking to earn whatever degree they had been or had started pursuing. When Jasmine had awoken, it was due to the sound of someone or something rummaging through her stuff, namely, her backpack from the sounds of things. She rose with a start, quickly brushing soft black hair away to get a look at whoever was making that noise, but found no one, nor any evidence of a disturbance from anything in her dorm room. 

Groggily, she brushed off the noise as her backpack shifting due to her roommate moving around and leaving much sooner than she did before getting ready for the day ahead. With her hair styled appropriately, her teeth brushed, and every other small little detail accounted for, she exited the confines of her room and strode towards the classroom where the slow day of studying and learning would begin, the dreaded room of... general studies. The teacher was a stout balding man with tanned skin and a grey goatee, he was, despite his appearance resembling that of a biker's or a TV show mechanic's, probably the best teacher Jasmine had the pleasure of learning under during her time at NSU. He was polite and friendly enough, but he had an air of seriousness that helped him keep peoples eyes on the prize when it came to certain subjects, typically math or science. 

He cleared his throat as Jasmine took her seat and kept an eye out for Nick and spoke in the voice those present had grown all too familiar with, being raspy, yet clear. "Gooo-oood morning everyone, I hope you all got enough rest last night because we have a few things that are gonna, well, quite frankly suck to go over, but I trust you all will be able to follow along and not be afraid to ask any questions." He finished and began to clack a few things into the laptop at his desk, eventually entering some string of commands that lead to a projector presenting an image of a white background with a flashing black line at the top left of it. Soon enough, the teacher began to write out the mess of numbers befitting a subject as convoluted and troubling as mathematics, and as the teacher's fingers moved, so did Jasmine's and many other students' as they began scribbling down notes and the like. 

Time moved like molasses, slow and in a sluggish manner, yet eventually, they had finished, and as the teacher began to close up his laptop for this class and ready himself for any after class questions, all had left. All, except Jasmine. Who, possibly being the one student in the school who had the most difficulty with math, prepared to ask some questions that had become nigh-on routine at this point. She asked if there was a simpler way of doing things, and if there was a way to practice the equations given to her by the teacher that didn't include using three separate sheets of paper for one equation, but of course, she was met with a response that sounded like it was delivered by a robot with how practiced it was.

"Sorry, but math is math, it doesn't change. Trust me, if I knew of a better way, I'd teach it." 

"Come on Mr. Meyers, are you certain there isn't like a math support group hidden somewhere in this facility that can magically solve these problems?"

With her primary and more serious question out of the way, she decided to speak a bit more casually and jokingly. It was her way of saying "Sorry I ask you the same thing every single time we get done with this subject", but she knew he really didn't mind either way. 

Jasmine was about to leave when the teacher spoke. 

"Before you go Ms. Thie, would you mind if I ask you a couple of questions?" 

"Of course! Fire away." 

"Well... I know you and that Nick boy are friends, and I was hoping he'd be here in class today so I could talk to him about this in person, but he's falling behind in math, badly. If he doesn't begin to really make an effort, he'll fail my class. Could you please do me and him a favor and try to get him to put some more effort into things for me? Again, I wish I could've spoken to him here but, well, it might be better if you were the one to tell him anyways, he seems to be friendlier towards you anyhow."

She nodded slowly, thinking about how this always happens, Nick lags behind, gets told he might fail if he doesn't step it up, goes above and beyond what he has to do to "compensate" for his time spent doing nothing, and then it repeats! She'd seen and eavesdropped a bit on the conversations he'd had with Mr. Meyers, but never before had she been tasked with motivating the lazy bastard herself! 

"If I see him I'll be sure to take care of it, anything else?" 

"Well, there was one thing, see, I noticed Nick wasn't in class today, I have a good eye and I make sure to do a headcount of everyone when they enter, but not once did he walk through that door. Normally I'd chalk this up to him doing something irresponsible like oversleeping or just outright forgetting, but there were a few other missing students as well, namely, Ms. O'Shea, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Daniels, Ms. Rose, and Mr. Stallone. I don't know how familiar you are with them, but they haven't been showing up for awhile now, and I don't mean to scare you by saying this if I do, but I've had the police come by recently and ask me a few questions, things like where I had last seen a few of them, and if I knew where they might be. So to my knowledge, they're just... missing. If you get worried that Nick might go missing as well, then please contact me and I'll handle it, alright? But at the same time, I can't control you, and I'm not your parent. All I ask is that you stay cautious of any shady folk around here, mkay?"

"Alright Mr. Meyers, thank you. And if it's any consolation, I was with Nick yesterday, we were walking back from work and had spent the day shopping and strolling around town. I'm sure where ever he is, he's perfectly fine sir, he has a knack for avoiding trouble anyhow." 

The teacher nodded and smiled softly, put partially at ease by the news that he wasn't one of the few who had been disappearing into thin air, and finished packing his things up so he could grab lunch with some of the other teachers. Jasmine and Meyers went their separate ways, and as Jasmine reflected upon the words of the teacher, she decided she'd use some of her precious off-time to have that little talk with Nick. She went towards his dorm and tapped her knuckles against the door, knocking on it in a delicate manner to get his attention, but to her surprise, the door was unlocked, and as her knuckles made contact with the door, it gave way to the pigsty that was his room. 

Clothes were strewn across the floor and an unpleasant odor pierced her nostrils as she stepped in. Concern for her friend began to rise as she found things uncharacteristic Nick around the lodging, like the previously mentioned clothes and stench. Despite the general laziness and lackadaisical attitude of Nick, he was a bit of a clean freak, so for things to be just haphazardly tossed around and the tidiness of the room to be generally disregarded, well, that was a sign that something was up. She found Nick lying uncomfortably still on his bed and a small bag filled with... eugh! Was that barf? Nasty, but at least she knew where the stench was coming from. 

She tapped her friend on his back, finding the shirt and even some of the blankets that covered his body damp with sweat, but the slight touch was enough to rouse him enough to get his attention. He turned and nearly gave the girl a heart attack, his face was pale and small strings of hair were matted to his forehead, not to mention the dry lips that looked like they'd be on a dead man rather than a sick person. 

"Jasmine? That you? Gimme some space, I'll sit up in a second." 

He tossed the blankets off and sat up, his breathing becoming labored from the small movements, causing him to slow down almost immediately after he started moving. On top of this, he had to lower his head and focus on the floor, his vision going fuzzy and his whole body feeling like it was going to give out on him at any given moment, and as he finally gained the energy to look at Jasmine and focus on her, he was able to tell that she was maybe just a little bit worried. 

"Are ah... you gonna be okay? I noticed you have a barf bag, which is pretty gross and frankly kinda weird."

Nick laughed a tad bit, then fell into a very brief coughing fit, hacking up phlegm and spit into the bag as he tried to chuckle at her remark. 

"I'm good, it's just a fever, that's all. Although, I do appreciate you checking up on me, couldja get me a glass of water or like a soda or something? I'm dying over here and my roomie has opted out of lending me a hand that no good-" 

He coughed again before he could finish and had to stop himself from vomiting again. At the end of his vile bile bout, he slumped back onto his bed, averting his eyes to the small box TV resting on a small wooden drawer across the room. 

"Would you mind grabbing the remote for me as well? It hurts to not space out to something loud and... not thinky."

Jasmine retrieved the water, and then a small bottle of water from a mini fridge just next to the drawer the TV sat on, handing the both of them to her buddy as he lay there ill. 

"Listen... I'm not entirely sure if this is the best time to tell you this, and I was hoping to discuss it later, but I'm here now so... Well, Meyers says you're flunking math. Again. Look, I know you value your private time, your you time, I respect that. But recently you've been letting it interfere with outside things, couldja do me a favor and at least try to act less irresponsible?"

"...Ah what the heck. I'll try it, just don't expect me to like it!"

Nick said, before turning the TV on and beginning his little session of channel surfing. He briefly flipped back and forth between a few sports channels, but ultimately decided to let the sounds of American football drown out the sounds of him being sick and miserable. Jasmine grinned at his statement, trusting he would truly put forth the effort, before checking the time on the wall. The time till her next study session drew near, and deciding that it'd be wise to stock up on extra paper and pencils, she bade farewell to the Sick Nick and returned to her room. 

She unlocked the door and entered, placing her backpack on her desk as she began to gather the sought after objects. It wasn't until she was about finished with this task that she noticed that she wasn't alone, and more troubling, it wasn't her roommate. She slowly reached for a protractor by the edge of her desk, then whipped around, clutching the device within her hands to face the presence in her room. What she was met with, was nothing more than simple old Joe. Still pointing the protractor at him, she spoke in a voice as stern as it was silenced.

"What are you doing in my room? How did you get here and why are you here? Answer me or I swear to god I will fill you with holes using this thing!"

"P-please relax Ms. Thie, we don't mean you any harm, do not be afraid, okay? We wish to help your friend and... well, explain a few troubling things. Please, lower the weapon, it wouldn't do you any good against my kind anyways."

"You're talking nonsense, but... but if you really don't mean any harm, then you'll put your hands in the air and keep them there, understand creep?! Furthermore, you'll tell me what you mean by "we", who else is with you?"

"I will show you in time, but please, let us return to Nick, he is unwell and he will NOT be getting any better if we dawdle."

Joe didn't wait any longer after that final statement, and after adjusting his patchy coat made with a mess of different colored materials and cloths, he pushed past Jasmine into the hallways. She gave chase, worried this freak might try to do something to Nick while he was weak, but found nobody in the hallway save for a few other students whom she wasn't too familiar with. 

She returned to her room, grabbing a glass bottle that once contained cane sugar soda in it, but was now empty, and rushed to Nicks dorm, bursting through the doors to assess the situation. She found Joe in the entryway as she expected him to be, and Nick startled and clutching a small buck knife in his left hand and the TV remote in his right, after exclaiming a few rather explicit words out of surprise and throwing the remote with what little might he currently had, he began to calm down when he saw Jasmine, assuming she knew what was happening. She did not. 

Joe approached the sickly student and knelt down to more easily look at him. After seemingly judging the kid, he reached into his coat to supposedly retrieve something, but just before he actually pulled anything out, he looked at Nick, then to Jasmine, taking a deep breath before speaking. 

"What I am about to show you must be kept secret at all costs, I mean it when i say that the utmost confidentiality is required unless you youths wish to drastically shorten your lifespans. Nick does not have any fever, nor any illness that mankind had spawned or encountered, he is dealing with something created by god."

Jasmine shot Nick a look that asked "do we just attack him now before he goes crazy or no?" Before looking to Joe, she was understandably confused and doubtful of his statements, but Joe had anticipated this reaction, had had many times before in the past, and this time was no different. 

"I know what I am saying sounds like incoherent nonsense and mindless chatter, but I insist you give me the chance to prove myself right. Nick, if you would please lift up your shirt and examine your stomach, you will find that you have lost a fair amount of weight."

Nick, as curious as he was ready to stab someone did as requested, albeit, with a great deal of hesitation and without breaking eye contact until the last second. When he did look at his stomach, he slowly relaxed his grip on the blade, lowering it as he looked onward in shock at his now nigh on skeletal belly, or more accurately, his lack there of a belly. Any fat, meat, or flesh that may have been comprising his stomach was now gone, leaving a thin sheet of skin and bone to hide his innards. 

"Explain yourself old man! Is this some kind of sick joke? If so then I'll wreck your stuff geezer!"

"Please calm yourself! I wish I were being humorous, but unfortunately, this is a threat all too real to the four of us, and before you ask who the fourth is, I will show you in due time. But for now, I will explain what is happening to you, then, I will cure you, and hopefully, you two will aid me in preventing this from happening again. Now, what you are going through is the result of God and his newfound hunger for authority and power, in the past fifty years, he has grown restless, weary, and worst of all, unhappy with his current position amongst the Global Pantheon. For these past five decades, they have been plotting scheming, and preparing to usurp a higher position of power, and their primary method of doing this, is by feeding off the lives of protestants and heathens. The reason you have lost body weight, is because from this god you and many more were created, and as such, you are unrightfully theirs to try and utilize, in this and many other cases, by reducing you to nothing and absorbing you. The lord who had been so generous and whom had giveth, now seeks to taketh away. I understand if this is all very hard to understand or process, but I ask you do not turn me away or decline my assistance, especially since young Nick's life depends on my help."

Nick and Jasmine shared an uncertain look together, but reluctantly nodded, simply wanting to be done with this situation and encounter. 

"Good, that's good... Since you are now aware of God's existence and how it is real, it is time to reveal to you one of the few remedies for this ailment that I have discovered."

Finally, Joe retracted his hand from his coat, pulling out a small green apple, inconspicuous and plain. And yet, it had an almost physical aura about it, like it was tempting the Jasmine and Nick to eat it. The best way to describe such a feeling was like that of a fish looking at the glowing bulb of an angler fish, it was mesmerizing, and it lured the two in. 

"This is an Iðunn Apple, from the remains of Asgard. It will reinvigorate Nick, and restore what has been lost, as well as safeguard you both from meeting a similar fate. However, you are only allowed to eat a singular slice each, there may still be more who require such sustenance."

He procured a small obsidian knife of a strange looking origin and carefully cut out two thin slices of the Iðunn apple. He gave one each to the two students and placed the blade back within his coat, waiting for them to eat it. Nick, no longer sure if he was still sane or in proper control over his own mental psyche, ate the apple, as, this was all probably just some weird fever dream he was having with no real bearing over the land of the awake, right? Jasmine followed Nick's lead, figuring he knew what he was getting himself into. 

As soon as the apple was swallowed and sent on it's way to Nick's digestive track, the bodyfat and muscles began to return to Nick around the area that they had been lost, and after a few magical seconds of blissful recovery, he was brought back from his sickly state. He smiled and cheered and clapped and laughed, amazed that Joe was truthful and that his whole apple idea worked!

"Wh- I don't- Why did that work?! Is... is this some sort of elaborate trick or something? Cause if so it isn't funny! I mean, just the other day you were some stranger with a weird coat, now you're supposed to be a weird strange with religious fruit? Yeah I'm not exactly having an easy time believing this."

Jasmine sounded both confused and almost angry at this nonsensical drivel some old coot was spewing at her, I mean, surely this was just a placebo effect right? Nick hadn't actually lost so much weight that it was noticeable, it was just their eyes all playing tricks on them. and there was no possible way a "magic apple" could magically cure an illness in the blink of an eye, Nick was probably just happy to eat something, right..?

"If you are still not convinced, then I have one final piece of evidence that could support my claims. Now, if you're wondering why I was able to retrieve these choice fruits of the gods, well, it was with a great deal of help. If you'd allow me, I'd like to introduce you to someone, please meet a companion that has been invaluable to me, Ratatoskr."

Joe patted around his coat until a audible rustling emerged from around his shoulder alongside a small hump. The hump made it's way towards the Joe's neck, and from that area a small horned squirrel with a blueish-black coat emerged, chittering at the pair of friends before looking at Joe. It leapt off and onto the floor, sniffing at it's surroundings with an ebony colored nose until it felt content enough to spring back onto Joe's shoulder with a singular mighty leap that was rather impressive for a creature of it's size. Then, in a tongue that none but Joe and a select few others understood, it asked "What is the meaning of my summoning here?"

Joe responded merely with a gesture towards Nick and Jasmine, causing Ratatoskr to let out a short, unfittingly deep chuckle that was sure to unnerve those unprepared for such a display. It seemed to understand now why it was here, and with it's duty of confirming the existence of unnatural creatures fulfilled, it nestled onto the comfortably warm coat of Joe's, getting comfortable while they let the Catholic do the talking for them.

"This is Ratatoskr, the divine messenger of Norse Mythology and Religion, he has been my companion for quite some time now and is someone I'd hope you'll work well with in the future. As you heard, he is able to speak, but is incapable of speaking English, or many other mortal languages for that matter."

By this point, Nick was settled down enough to interject and explain his thoughts on the matter,

"So wait a second... that isn't just a horribly mistreated rodent you glued a horn onto? That's... that's cool I guess. Not entirely sure how to process this or why this is really happening, but I'll go with it. For now that is, the second this stops being mildly interesting is the moment I'm out."

"Have you not been listening? There is no out, you were just being targeted by a supremely powerful being that wished to kill you, and had it not been for me, it would've come true, same applies to Jasmine! Now please, for just a minute, consider the fact that perhaps I'm not a deranged old man and am actually trying to help not just you, but many others as well! Got it? Good, now, I'm sure you have lots of questions, and unfortunately, time isn't going to allow for me to answer them, we have Aion to thank for that, so for now, would you please trust me enough to help you further, and maybe even help me?"


End file.
